--For as bad as the Thunder's record is, the team has been in more games lately. A common theme under Scott Brooks' watch has been the inability to finish games. If they can get that corrected, plus continue to play teams tough, the interim coach figures a few more wins will come Oklahoma City's way.

"Fourth quarters are a game of stops," Brooks said. "You really need to buckle down and get stops. You can't afford to give teams lay-ups, you can't afford to give teams offensive rebounds and you can't afford turnovers yourself.

"And if you can do those things in the fourth quarter, the way we're playing, we're hanging in there tight and we're going to break through. It's going to happen. It's going to happen."

--Wednesday marked the second pro meeting between rookie lottery picks Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City and Memphis' O.J. Mayo. They squared off three times as college rivals, as Westbrook starred for UCLA and Mayo flourished across town at USC. Mayo scored 30 points in the first game against the Thunder.

"He's a good player," Westbrook said. "He can score in a variety of different ways. You've just got to come out and be solid and don't gamble."

QUOTE TO NOTE: "It's not just going to go away. We have to make it go away. (Wednesday night) was one we could have gotten for the crowd. I don't like it and our players don't like it. We have to just work harder and get better." -- Coach Scott Brooks, Wednesday after the Thunder lost its fifth straight overall and 10th in row at home.